Mark St. John
| Mark St. John | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mark Leslie Norton |
| Born | February 7, 1956 |
| Origin | Hollywood, California, US |
| Died | April 5, 2007 (aged 51) |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal, classical, blues, progressive rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, Vocals |
| Years active | 1984–2003 |
| Associated acts | Front Page Dali The Keep The Mark St. John Project Kiss White Tiger |
Mark Leslie Norton (February 7, 1956 – April 5, 2007), better known as Mark St. John, was a guitarist best known for his brief work with the rock band Kiss from April to November 1984. He played on the band's Animalize album and a few dates on the subsequent tour before being replaced by Bruce Kulick.
Before joining Kiss, St. John was a well known and respected teacher and guitarist for the Southern California cover band Front Page. After leaving Kiss, he formed a band called White Tiger, featuring David Donato (lead vocals), his brother Michael Norton (bass/backing vocals), and Brian James Fox (drums). Demos that the band had recorded with producer Andy Johns and guitarist Neil Citron, prior to Mark joining, apparently led to Donato's equally short tenure with another legendary band, Black Sabbath.
St. John was only with Kiss a short time, but he was featured on the album Animalize, the second album of the "unmasked" period. This turned out to be one of Kiss's most successful studio albums, aside from those made by the original lineup. St. John's only video appearance with Kiss is in the video for the hit single "Heaven's on Fire".
During the sessions for the album, which was recorded in mid-1984, St. John clashed with the other members of the band, and according to Paul Stanley, they had difficulty putting together solos, with Paul saying that Mark had trouble playing the same thing twice. Paul also said that he had to dub in certain parts during Mark's solos to make them work better with the song. He also developed arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome), which caused his hands and arms to swell. He was all but unable to perform live as a member of Kiss, and only played two full shows and one partial show during the Animalize tour, with Bruce Kulick playing the rest. Mark St. John was officially replaced by Bruce Kulick on December 8, 1984.
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